Linux Foundation forms Automotive Grade Workgroup, aims to open-source your ride with Tizen
It doesn't take much driving to notice that many in-car infotainment systems are custom-built and locked down tight. The Linux Foundation sees it differently and wants our cars to embrace the same notions of common roots and open code that we'd find in an Ubuntu box. Its newly-formed Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup is transforming Tizen into a reference platform that car designers can use for the center stack, or even the instrument cluster. The promise is to both optimize a Linux variant for cars and provide the same kind of years-long support that we'd expect for the drivetrain. Technology heavy-hitters like Intel, Harman, NVIDIA, Samsung and TI form the core of the group, although there are already automakers who've signaled their intentions: Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota are all part of the initial membership. We don't know how soon we'll be booting into Tizen on the morning commute, but we'd expect in-car systems to take a step forward -- just as long as we don't have to recompile our car's OS kernel.
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The Linux Foundation Announces Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup
HARMAN, Intel, Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Samsung, Toyota and More to Collaborate on Effort to Broadly Support Open Source Technology in Automotive Industry
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 19, 2012) - The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced the Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup (AGL). The Workgroup will facilitate widespread industry collaboration that advances automotive device development, providing a community reference platform that companies can use for creating products.
Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and Toyota are among the first carmakers to participate in the Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup. Other members include Aisin AW, DENSO Corporation, Feuerlabs, Fujitsu, HARMAN, Intel, NEC, NVIDIA, Reaktor, Renesas, Samsung, Symbio, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI), and Tieto. For comments from a variety of these companies please visit: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/news-media/announcements/2012/09/supporting-comments-linux-foundation-announces-automotive-grade
A major shift is underway in the automotive industry. Carmakers are using new technologies to meet consumer expectations for the same connectivity in cars as what is today the norm in homes and offices. From dashboard computing to In-Vehicle-Infotainment (IVI), automobiles are becoming the latest wireless devices -- on wheels. By leveraging the $10B collective investment (Value of Linux: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/sites/main/files/publications/estimatinglinux.html) already made in the Linux kernel and taking advantage of the technology contributions from the consumer electronics and enterprise computing markets, carmakers can use Linux and open source technologies to accelerate innovation.
The Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup will work with the Tizen project as the reference distribution optimized for a broad set of automotive applications ranging from Instrumentation Cluster to In-Vehicle-Infotainment (IVI) and more. The Linux Foundation will host this effort, providing a neutral environment for collaboration among the Linux kernel community, other open source software communities and the automotive industry.
The reference platform will use the upstream first policy and support the long lifecycle of cars. This will allow for ongoing support for the products built with Automotive Grade Linux, as well as support for critical features such as fast boot.
"This workgroup will leverage Tizen to create a Debian or Fedora-like project for the automotive industry," said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. "Like those community distributions, the Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup will rapidly feed cutting-edge technologies to automakers and their partners who can build Linux-based products for the newest cars."
"A community distribution for automotive Linux is essential," said Ken-ichi Murata, Project General Manager, Toyota Motor Corporation. "There are a core set of requirements specific to the automotive industry, and collaborative development can help meet those needs faster and more efficiently."
The Linux Foundation today is also announcing that HARMAN and Jaguar Land Rover are becoming Silver members of the organization. These companies recognize the value of Linux in enabling the future of car technologies and aim to maximize their investment in the platform through Linux Foundation membership.
The Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup also supports other efforts such as GENIVI Alliance and the W3C workshop on Web and Automotive. For more information about the Automotive Grade Linux Workgroup, please visit: http://automotive.linuxfoundation.org
